Subscribe to this blog

Follow by Email

Search This Blog

Britain and Friends

Sherlock Holmes said “I am one of those who believes that the folly of a monarch and the blundering of a minister in far-gone years will not prevent our children from being some day citizens of the same world-wide country under a flag which shall be a quartering of the Union Jack with the Stars and Stripes.”

This quote from the "Adventure of the Noble Batchelor" by Arthur Conan Doyle describes the the idea of all countries with a British heritage, not just the US and the UK, joining together. This concept arose in 19th century with the idea of an Imperial Federation. This became more popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century as the British Empire came under pressure from rising nationalist and anti-colonialist forces.

These like-minded countries can easily be identified because in addition their having very similar cultures of trade and law, they all speak English as their main language. The membership list of this club varies quite considerably depending on who is drawing up the list but at its core are the English-speaking countries of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. Each of these was once a British colony and could plausibly be imagined as forming of an alliance of countries united by a shared political and economic culture and Christianity.

This powerful idea of a cooperation agreement across the English speaking world is know as the Anglosphere. The concept of an Anglosphere reflects the long-held belief that Britain’s best interests lie in forging closer relationships with those countries that have broadly similar political structures and systems; and that also tend to cherish the values of parliamentary government, individual liberty, the rule of law and the free market.

Once Britain has left the EU, following the decision in a referendum on June 23rd to do so, it can forge new alliances and trade deals. One possible option is aline itself with countries that have historically been friends and allies, countries who share similarities in culture and religion. Britain could form closer links with its friends.

Popular posts from this blog

I was on the cusp of buying a birthing pool. They are inflatable and relatively cheap. Unfortunately, they are intended for women of about 5'9" height. I, however, required the birthing pool for a man. The man in question was over 6' tall. He was, of course, not going to give birth but, rather, he had been born again. The pool was required for baptism. So instead of the birthing pool I bought a paddling pool. The pool was 12' in diameter but only 30" high. I set it up in the garden and filled it with water. On my getting into the pool to try it out the week before the baptism, there was a veritable tidal wave engulfing a large section of my lawn. No good then. Instead I borrowed a custom made baptistry from a nearby church. The baptism went swimmingly.
A couple of days before the baptism, which took place in our regular Sunday morning service, there was a pool tournament in our church. The guy who was about to be baptised in the baptismal pool won…

This March we commemorate the day Jesus died, Good Friday, right on the last day of
the month. The significance of the death of Jesus is summed up in this verse:

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

There is an amazing simplicity here – 21 words of only one syllable, one word of two
syllables, and one word (righteousness) of three syllables. It could hardly be simpler than
this–yet whole books could be written on the meaning of each phrase.
How important is this verse? Miss this and you’ve missed the truth of God. If you get this
right, you can be wrong in a lot of other places and still go to heaven. In these days of
rampant theological confusion, it is vitally important that the church of Jesus Christ be
firmly settled on the gospel message. That is, after all, our only message.

God has not
committed to us a message about political power or military might.

Advanced technology is affecting our life today by causing an increase in luxuries and facilities that result in more laziness. We can order almost anything on Amazon and get it delivered. We can get any food we want from the local supermarket. These and other cultural factors, such as the popularity of sugary foods, have resulted in a simple horrific truth: more people are becoming obese these days. It is one of the most rapidly thriving health problems of the 21st century. This health problem is more serious in developed countries. It causes serious heart problems and results in devastated effects on body.

One cure, the one that I have found to work, is the adoption of low carbohydrate diet; a diet containing lesser amounts of carbohydrates. Low carb diet enhances your body by shifting your metabolism towards the burning of fat instead of carbs. As fats are the primary cause of obesity so they must be removed to cure the effect. When your intake of carbohydrates; which are direct …

about Pete:

Peter Timothy Cooper is a preacher and Bible expositor with tendency to moments of brilliance and times of waffle. He is vicar of Poulton and Seacombe in the NW of England and broadcasts onPhysical and spiritual health.